60 Years of Indian Independence

Today, on the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence, I was witness to a speech by a senior member about the achievements & the peaks that India has scaled in these years. We had a look into the literacy situation, the per capita income of the country, the cost of living, India’s defence expenditure et all among other things.

Though India has progressed through the times, it seemed to be a myopic view of the situation. Statistics as they say reveal more than wot they hide. For instance, when we touched the topic of India’s earning power, we started it off thus “In 1947 an average Indian earned Rs. 400.00 as monthly wages whereas the same Indian earns an average of Rs.22000.00 per month” When it came to literacy, we were 14% literate in 1947 whereas the same stands at 67% today. This rate they say was more guided by the woman populace of the country rather than the menfolk. Now for the other side of the story left untold. We can always agree that the rise in income of the average Indian is a great improvement. However that is a sign of the times. I still vividly remember my parents telling me that a dozen bananas cost 0.75 Ps in those times. Cut to today’s scenario, the friendly, neighborly shopkeeper wont even allow a sneak peak of the banana’s for that amount. If 67 out of every 100 Indians are supposed to be literate, then I can challenge you that out of the first 100 people you meet on the street, atleast 50% of them will be illiterate as far as international norms of literacy go. Blame it on the definition for literacy in India that says that if a person is able to write his name on a piece of paper, he is deemed literate!!!

That exactly explains my point. Just because we are seeing the rosier side of the picture, the tabloids give us a progressive outlook of the country, it does not mean that India is untouched by disease, malaise and other evils that tend to percolate the country & make it hollow inside out. Though we say that women are spearheading the literacy movement, the crimes committed against women in this country are rising at an alarming rate. We say that the Infant Mortality rate ha reduced. However that data can be confined & verified in case of hospitals only. If some one were to read the newspapers in the run up to this month, ones hearts would be filled with so much anger and desperation over the fact that so many babies (atleast one such incident per day) were either killed or abandoned by city folk at various places in the city. If this is the condition of Mumbai, I dread to even contemplate the situation in the other states. We see so many people many of them children below the age of 10 begging at various street corners, at railway stations, at traffic lights some of those with an even smaller sibling strapped to their backs and yet we are brave enough to come up with a literacy figure of 67%, a per capita income of Rs.22000.00 per month. This obviously leads us to the conclusion that these unfortunate ones were never considered when the data was collected for such studies which in turn leads us to believe that these studies were carried out with a view of portraying a progressive picture.

On this day, we as Indians need to brush aside our achievements since what has happened is the past and look towards the future & plan it in such a manner that it will be a beacon for the future generations to follow. We need to take the so called achievements in our stride no doubt but the goal should be achieved keeping in mind the obstacles that lay on our path rather than riding a wave of false confidence created by society. We have to strive for an India that is poverty free, where every child receives education enough to make it stand on his own feet & think clearly, where mothers do not end up making the wrong choices and start taking things in their stride and ride out situations that others may deem impossible.

Its time for a SILENT REVOLUTION!!!!!!!